Ode to the Volunteers of CoderDojo Nafpaktos by Iraklis Markelis

When I first saw CoderDojo’s coding movement I never thought of the way it would flourish and bloom inside a computer lab. That’s because I’ve never had the need before to collaborate with volunteers.

Trying to do my best on organizing the first event of CoderDojo Nafpaktos I’m sorry to say that I underestimated the power of volunteering.

These are the people who can really put anything into fast-track. Technicians, programmers and non-technical personnel can all become part of a happy ending story. I don’t know if I’m lucky but I discovered that my team of volunteers:

Loved what they did and had the need to grab the opportunity of offering knowledge to others, helping them to become better people.

Knew that through volunteering they gained new knowledge, practiced their skills on programming, improved their communication skills and learned how to act in a more professional manner.

Were strongly motivated by being in love with what they do.

Shared their happiness from volunteering by offering the joy of knowledge to the participants.

Of course they all have names and I want to have the honor and present them to you. First, I would like to thank the lady programmers of our team Ms. Konstantina Anagnonstou, Ms. Konstantina Chrisanthou and Ms. Stauroula Kridera for the creation of the ScratchTron working sheet and the help they provided to our Ninjas. Second, I would like to thank Mr. Panos Angelopoulos and Mr. Dimitris Armenatzoglou for the Scratchanoid working sheet and the unstoppable guidance they offered to the kids throughout the whole event. Third, I would like to thank our technicians Mr. Petros Daniskas, Mr. Christos Kamvisis, Mr. Panos Lymperopoulos, Mr. Andreas Nakopoulos and Mr. Nikos Paloukos who welcomed and offered material to the participants at the reception, took photos during the event and resolved all the issues that came up with the participant’s computers.

Last but not least, I would like to say a great big thank you to the photographer Mr. Sotiris Tsakanikas (www.sotiristsakanikas.com) for capturing with his creative talent all the great moments we lived during our event.

I’m so happy to know all of them and I feel a great pleasure for being one of them. Not only because they can motivate and inspire other people but also because I think we believe in three things:

Knowledge you gain for free must be returned to your community also for free.

Only by working together can we become better, stronger and achieve higher goals.

The power of coding can change the world.

Thank you very much to Iraklis and CoderDojo Nafpaktos for sharing this with us. The movement would not be possible without all of the fantastic volunteers out there!

If you would like to share stories about your Dojo please email them to us: [email protected]